Psychometric properties of the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in Chinese stroke patients

• Published in: BMC psychiatry 2023-01, Vol.23 (1), p.16-16, Article 16
• Main Authors: Jiang, Che, Xue, Gaici, Yao, Shujing, Zhang, Xiwu, Chen, Wei, Cheng, Kuihong, Zhang, Yibo, Li, Zhensheng, Zhao, Gang, Zheng, Xifu, Bai, Hongmin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CAPS-5; Checklist; China; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; East Asian People; Humans; PCL-5; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; Psychometric property; Psychometrics; PTSD; Reproducibility of Results; Risk factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stroke; Stroke patients
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-04493-y

Stroke is a devastating disease and can be sufficiently traumatic to induce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-stroke PTSD is attracting increasing attention, but there was no study assessing the psychometric properties of the PCL-5 in stroke populations. Our study was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in Chinese stroke patients. This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted at our hospital. Three hundred and forty-eight Chinese stroke patients came to our hospital for outpatient service were recruited. They were instructed to complete the PCL-5 scales and were interviewed for PTSD diagnosis with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5). The cutoff scores, reliability and validity of the PCL-5 were analyzed. PCL-5 scores in our sample were positively skewed, suggesting low levels of PTSD symptoms. The reliability of PCL-5 was good. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated acceptable construct validity, and confirmed the multi-dimensionality of the PCL-5. By CFA analysis, the seven-factor hybrid model demonstrated the best model fit. The PCL-5 also showed good convergent validity and discriminant validity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses revealed a PCL-5 score of 37 achieved optimal sensitivity and specificity for detecting PTSD. Our findings supported the use of PCL-5 as a psychometrically adequate measure of post-stroke PTSD in the Chinese patients.